UdderlyOffroad

What he said...female thread grease nipple and pin turned/had a die run down it to create suitable male thread. Stealing the theme from another thread...how about the X-Hinge Si? I'm sure if you build it, they will come?? A good source of hinges (as in not slop-out-of-box-part) with mod'd grease nipples? I'd buy a set!

Or machine a thread into the end of the pin to accept a grease nipple? M6x1 IIRC, which is probably too big for (as has been said) a 6mm-odd pin?

X-Off Pikeys? I'll get me coat.... But seriously, nice bit of kit! Certainly a better solution than those clanky pedal lock-boxes. Am I correct in thinking you’ve glued a piece of rubber to the side facing the pedals to act as a non-slip surface for your feet when it’s in ‘unlocked’ mode? Also, in that vein, how well will this work with rubber mats, soundproofing etc?

A decent workshop vacuum cleaner. Especially if you do any woodwork with the pillar drill! Other than that, if you're doing a lot of work on Landies....a decent flare-nut spanner set and a 3/4" socket set. Amazing how many otherwise-stuck fasteners yield to the 3/4" breaker-bar. As you have a compressor, get yourself a £15-ebay special rattle gun. A lot of people may sneer, but it will undo 80% of all the bolts a pro-job will do, and won't half save you spannering-time. Also, even a cheapie will subject the nut to more hammer-blows per second than you could ever muster. If you're doing mainly fabrication work, then as has been said, a metal cutting chop saw. I covet a lathe, for the same reasons you have the pillar drill....once you have one you wonder how you managed without one. They do take up a looooot of room though.

Re-he-he-eally? That's useful to know...didn't go this time due to not actually needing anything at the moment...but I will be there next time, with a some used Defender headlinings for sale...and bag some bargains...

Does depend on which generation Sankey you buy – if you get the ‘narrow track’ it will have a swivel on the trailer part of the hitch, and will be happy in a non-swivelling plant-trailer type hitch. However, I would urge you to get the newer widetrack – as they have a drop-down tailgate and were designed to be towed by a 90/110 so are far more useful, IMHO. I managed to pick up a swivelling NATO hitch for £20 from Ebay, which I then bolted to a spare drop-plate. The holes were even pre-drilled in the drop-plate! As for the sourcing one local to you, I initially tried that, but gave up, and got one delivered from Withams for £80, have a read here: http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=66086&hl=&fromsearch=1 Don’t forget to budget for a new trailer electrical plug and some 12v bulbs. And it’s quite likely some of the military-style lamps will be broken. Matt

Facepalm! I knew that...honest Thanks guys, you are both correct of course...I just wanted to ask in case I'd missed a trick. But yes a relay will be much quicker than soldering CMOS chips onto breadboard and heatshrink-wrapping the resultant assembly. Fortunately all I'm driving off this circuit is an LED. M

As the subject line really…Is anyone aware of a discrete, ready-built unit that would operate as an AND gate, but with 12v? I have tried to google this, but 1) Google does boolean search-strings (kinda) and 2) search for 12v Gates produces gates of the common or garden-variety! I know I could use a relay as described in the picture below, and probably will be what I end up doing, but I was just wondering if anyone had an off-the-shelf solution? Matt

First of all, can I add my voice to those already to everyone else in congratulating Jason for organising this…this is a big, public, two fingered salute to those unscrupulous persons-of-questionable parentage who try and diddle people (whether old, young, or just lacking in mechanical expertise). Unfortunately I was unable to help due distance and previous commitments but it appears you hand plenty of experienced hands on board… Excellent idea Si, I certainly would welcome a ‘fix it’ weekend (certainly my truck could use it!), perhaps with some camping...and maybe play day on the Sunday. But I suspect the main problem is those requiring help probably have an immovable vehicle anyway, and the costs+logisitics associated with transporting/trailering said vehicle make the prospect unattractive. Getting really advanced here, we could do a fixit+flog surplus bits stand at the Bristol and West Land Rover show? Or Newbury? Speak to the organisers of the former and we might be able to do it indoors in one of their cowsheds exhibition halls. Point is, if we do it at a show, there should be plenty of sources of bits+sundries should we run short! Otherwise, sign me up for a chez X-eng weekend, even if I just come along to 'learn', rather than bring my truck. It'd be great to see/help with a swivel rebuild, for instance, before taking one on meself...

I think you're looking in the wrong places, try entering 'discovery spares or repair' into ebay and sorting the results by nearest to your location. I had to travel a bit for mine (Dorset, going from Bristol), but I picked up 200tdi rotbox with 130k on the clock (with, importantly enough remaining MOT+tax so I could drive it home) for £450... Oh, and keep hold of it for as long as your other half will tolerate seeing a rotting discovery on your drive...there are loads of bits that can be robbed which aren't immediately obvious but can be made to fit with minimal fettling...such as wiring, loudspeakers, seats if they're in good condition...etc. As you have a 90 you can swap the axles over too, giving you an easy rear disc-brake conversion (not possible on a 110).

It’s worth mentioning that most of the DIY-priced troque wrenches I’ve come across only go up to 200 Nm, so when I re-fitted my towbar I went all the way up to the 200 Nm click, then put the breaker bar on and proceeded to grunt in a manly fashion whilst I gave it the extra 40-or-so Nm by feel! Make sure you’ve had your Weetabix….

Personally, I would spend a little bit more and get a 'garage' style jack - one with a handle you can pump whilst stood up. So much better than the 'hobbyist' ones - F-heavy but way more stable and quicker to use too. I've got the screwfix std issue one, which has now gone up to £99 (hence not linked to it!) but does everything a jack should... Costco were doing a very decent one 'Arcan' copy for £75-odd a while ago, if you have/know anyone who has a card.

Si, Excellent idea, and I suspect you might gain more traction with it now, as "whipcash" has gone political! If I were you, I'd write to your MP (theyworkforyou.com) and send a copy into 10 Downing St and the DfT. What with 'Dave' Cameron now holding summits* on the cost of motor insurance, if this doesn't generate interest from your local MP at the very least I'd be surprised. As you said, the two parties concerned deemed it not in their interest to do anything about it (though that may not be the case now), but surely a motivated MP should take this up like a shot? (a slightly less cynical) Matt *honestly, asking the insurance industry how to drive costs down = asking turkeys to discuss the benefits of Christmas

That sentiment is certainly true, and ordinarily I agree with it wholeheartedly, however I would add the following caveat: I always try to keep things standard and factory, except when they are known weak spots, in which case I would upgrade to something better (having done some careful research on it first). It so happens that both std lights and the std hazard switch IMHO fall firmly into the ‘known weak spot’ category. The lights especially crack, discolour, fill with water etc far too easily for my liking. Hence I’m planning upgrading them to the NAS ones, preferably proper, E Marked Perei LED jobs although the budget may not stretch to that. The hazard switch is another one. It’s known to have internals made of cheese, when I got my truck it was borked, and the (genuine Lucas) replacement didn’t feel as it if it had a match better action. Therefore, I’ll replace it with the Carling hazard switch in my mud dash. Whilst it might not be standard, you can keep the wires going to it the same colour (just extend them from the original connector. Pinouts for the switch are on here and on the Mudstuff site so it shouldn’t cause issues). Just my £0.02

<Homer Simpson> mmmmmmmm tool porn Looks good Soren! Keep us informed how you get on with it. Are you planning on expanding into rebuilding engines professionally, or just keeping it as the hobby for the time being?

Whilst I’m not qualified to comment on the effects towing will have on a series transmission* (although the Severn Valley leafer’s link seemed the most sensible, IMHO). With respect to other members on here, given that you received conflicting advice, perhaps a call to Ashcroft transmissions in the UK would give you confidence, given you’d get some answers from a transmissions expert… Seems that perhaps the best solution would be getting a good trailer setup. A proper, dual (or even tri-) axle car transporter trailer should not impose too much tongue (nose in the UK) weight on a vehicle rated to tow it. Having a good trailer setup also has the advantage that you can get the truck home, should you have some kind of breakdown that makes the vehicle un-towable (bust a diff, steering borked, whatever). Obviously that would not be a cheap solution. A trailer built for the purpose should also not require adjusting of ramps and the like, and with practise and proper tie-down straps you should be able to get the loading down to <5 minutes…ultimate ‘luxury’ is one of those hydraulic tilt-bed trailers which don’t need ramps at all. I’ve hired one in the past and it was really easy to load a car which was basically otherwise immovable (‘barn find’, brakes seized on, tyres flat, etc). Just my $0.02

How often? At a guess, behind your RV, quite a lot?

I'm afraid my inner pikey doesn't see the point of expensive alarms, especially when as has been mentioned 1) alarm fitters vary wildly in quality 2) an immobilised Tdi is particularly easy to bypass, given the correct know-how. However given that in the UK we're not allowed some of the more, uhhhm, South African1 security measures, we need to take precautions. The point I'm meandering towards is that my plan is to fit one of these. The installation manual (here, PDF) gives a few clues as to where you could hide the various bits and wire it in to the ignition/fuel stop circuit. There should be plenty of places to hide the actual alarm itself in Brian (or indeed any LR), and you could make the wiring hard to identify by making it look 'standard'. Ok it won't resist professional attack for long, but that, combined with a PIR light/camera combo and some other physical security (pedalbox, steering lock) should be an affordable arsenal. It won't resist Mr P Ikey and a flatbed truck, but nothing much will. As a bonus, the kit I'm talking about includes remote engine start (which will be wired to the eventual webasto/eberspacher) as well as a central door locking kit. I've checked with Hawk and the unit will power and additional door lock motor for the rear door too... 1 = You know, the ones where the thief is immobilised, not the car....

Not true: In other words, your trailer could be working perfectly with bulbs (as the OP describes) but wouldn't work with LEDs because the socket within the lamp might be connected backwards. Whilst LEDs themselves are, by definition, polarity concious, LED lamps might not be - they might have two LEDs wired in opposite directions - so they work whichever way they're connected: The newer-style NAS Lamps are now 'E' marked, such as these

I think you’re getting the two common issues with LED lighting confused. You need to add ballasts to indicators, in order that they don’t flash too fast. Reason being, flasher relays are required to have a bulb failure indication function. They do this by sensing load (current) drawn by the indicator bulbs. If one is blown, the current will be lower, and the relay will make the remaining bulbs flash faster. LED lights, because of their lower current draw, tend to cause the relay to flash too fast, hence the need to fool the relay by adding ballasts (the other option is to swap the flasher relay for LED-compatible one). This lower current draw/ballast requirement isn’t usually an issue with any other lights other than indicators. The other issue with LEDs is that they are Light Emitting Diodes. The diode part is important, in that they can only be wired one way or they won’t work…my guess would be that the wiring in your trailer is stop/tail socket is wired backwards. So what would normally be +ve is wired to -ve With bulbs this would make no difference. A multimeter with a continuity buzzer should help you diagnose this, and workout where you need to swap the wires over. As mmgemini says, it’s not unknown for Defenders to be wired up ‘backwards’ too. Edit to add: better explanation of why you need a ballast with LED

I worked for a self-employed builder a few years ago...he ran a crew of 3 full-time tradesmen - drove to work in a 15 year old transit van, but lived in a million pound plus house in a village outside bath. He had a two-year old rangie parked on the drive, and an orange wife parked on the...anyway Oz Slang => Queen's English Chalkie = Teacher Tradie = Tradesman Ute = Pick up truck Bench = (kitchen) Worktop Seppo (Septic Tank) = Yank

A member on another forum (I think he is/was a member on here but don't quote me on that) has completely LED NAS'd truck, first with coloured lenses, then with clear lights. Pictures below show them - hope he doesn't mind me linking to his photobucket pics, but then his truck has been a 'covergirl' for LRO, so I suppose he's used to the publicity! Personally I like the coloured LED NAS lights on the back, not sure about the front, and the clear ones look too blingy for me! But each to their own. Coloured LED NAS Lights: View of upfront: Rear now changed to clear lights:

This is exactly what the cheap stuff from Lidl does - avoid. It was only -7 for crisssakes! I honestly don't know why we in the UK can't have proper stuff sold to us unlike in Europe (surely pikeys attempting to drink it is just natural selection at work?) Last time I was in Poland, I went into the local Tesco (really - largest supermarket chain over there) and poured own-brand into the car, and it was quite happy at -10 and below. Do that with Tesco's own-brand here and washer jets will freeze. /rant Has anybody used the 'Four Seasons' stuff from GSF successfully?

My bad Didn't read the So, for instance this one is carling p/n VLD2UHNB- AAC00- 000. The 3rd character 'D' equates to 20 A @ 12V rating, according to the datasheet (pdf) I'd still be interested to know how people ran all the cabling for the consoles? Presuambly the main feeds came froma seperate fusbox, out through the battery box, back in via the bulkhead (in the usual LR wasy) and via the switches back out again to lights, compressors etc?

Fair enough - my own build thread has been languishing dormant for months, almost as much my truck has....damn things like needing to earn a living and house refurb keep getting in the way, not to mention spending quality time with SWMBO... Back on-topic, looks like the sensible thing is to leave alone regarding seat numbers too...